Unsurprisingly, Ben Johnson has been building his offensive staff by leveraging personal connections. Antwaan Randle El and J.T. Barrett have followed him from Detroit. will run the wide receivers and quarterbacks, respectively. He might not be done. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network revealed that the Chicago Bears interviewed Tennessee Titans quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree for their vacant offensive coordinator position. Not only did the young assistant work with Johnson for three years in Miami, but he also served briefly with the Bears in 2015.
Hardegree has a fascinating history. He broke into the NFL with Denver in 2014 and served as an offensive assistant at multiple stops before becoming the quarterbacks coach in Miami. He soon jumped to New England in 2021, where he was instrumental in helping Mac Jones have a standout rookie season. Josh McDaniels brought him to Las Vegas where he got one last Pro Bowl out of Derek Carr. Midway through the following season in 2023, Hardegree was forced to take over play-calling after McDaniels was fired. After a difficult stretch in November, things started to click down the stretch, including a 63-point explosion against the Chargers.
Despite rarely being given adequate resources to work with, Hardegree has a reputation for overachieving.
The allure of Bo Hardegree isn't hard to see.
For one, he has a growing reputation for helping young quarterbacks develop. Jones and Aidan O'Connell played their best football with him on the staff. He would be an instant asset for Caleb Williams. There is also his knack for cracking offensive plays. In his brief time running the offense for Las Vegas, he did a remarkable job of installing new wrinkles almost every week, keeping opponents off balance. There is no question Johnson would love to get that kind of mind on the staff, given his own love of constantly brainstorming new ideas. Bo Hardegree won't have significant control of the offense like normal coordinators. That doesn't mean he wouldn't have serious influence.
